The Virginia university contended with several high-profile incidents of antisemitism last year
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Graduates pass a statue of George Mason on the campus of George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.
George Mason University is the latest target of the Trump administration’s investigations into universities for allegedly violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by not cracking down on harassment of Jewish students.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched the investigation on Tuesday, according to a letter first obtained by the Free Beacon. The school has until July 21 to provide detailed information requested by the administration, including all complaints surrounding antisemitism.
“George Mason University has received notice of an impending investigation and a request for data,” a university spokesman told the Free Beacon. “The university believes the allegations to be false, and is working on a timely and comprehensive response.”
The public university in Northern Virginia contended with several major incidents of antisemitism on its campus during the last academic year. The administration faced scrutiny from several pro-Israel individuals affiliated with the school about its response, perceived to be lackluster, after pro-terrorism materials were found in the home of two of its students and a third student was charged with plotting a mass causality attack in November.
George Mason’s administration suspended its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter after two of the group’s student leaders vandalized a campus building with anti-Israel graffiti — and barred the two women from campus for four years. The university also expelled a freshman student who was charged with plotting a terror attack against the Israeli consulate in New York. Administrators later conducted a meeting with Jewish groups to discuss safety and security on campus.
But the university’s response to the incidents avoided any mention of the suspects’ antisemitic motivations or their Islamist sympathies. The police search of the home of the George Mason SJP leaders, sisters Jena and Noor Chanaa, found firearms, scores of ammunition and pro-terror materials, including Hamas and Hezbollah flags and signs that read “death to America” and “death to Jews.”
The OCR investigation into the university comes as the federal government has frozen billions of dollars in federal funding following similar investigations at several elite colleges including Columbia, Harvard and Northwestern.